Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, arrived in the UK four months before he raped the girl he approached in a park.

An Afghan asylum seeker has been jailed for 15 years after abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.

Ahmad Mulakhil was found guilty of rape and two counts of sexual assault following a trial last month, having already admitted a further rape charge.

He was also convicted of child abduction and taking an indecent video of the girl by the jury at Warwick Crown Court.

The court heard that Mulakhil arrived in the UK four months before committing the offences.

He had made an immigration application linked to “problems” he had experienced in Afghanistan.

The 23-year-old told the court he believed his victim to be 19 years old, and said she initiated a sexual encounter on 22 July last year.

But prosecutor Daniel Oscroft said Mulakhil’s attempts to blame his victim were “stomach-churning” and “pretty revolting”.

The victim, who cannot be named, said she was approached in a Nuneaton park by Mulakhil after playing on the swings. She said she had told her attacker to stop and that he was laughing while attacking her.

Sentencing Mulakhil, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim continues to suffer trauma responses and medical issues associated with the attack.

“Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances and she has suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm,” the judge said, adding that Mulakhil had “targeted” the girl.

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